The Tigers face the team directly below them in the Championship table
Paul Heckingbottom has concerns over the state of the Deepdale pitch(Image: Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images)
Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom admits the Deepdale playing surface is a problem, ahead of Tuesday night’s meeting with play-off rivals Hull City.
North End struggled with the state of their home pitch in Saturday’s 1-0 home loss to Derby County, with the Rams’ direct, physical style proving too much for the Lillywhites as they saw their two-game winning run come to an end.
Their defeat, coupled with City’s impressive win at Southampton, was enough for the Tigers to leapfrog PNE into fifth, with Heckingbottom’s men dropping down to sixth.
City themselves have had concerns over the state of the MKM Stadium pitch in recent weeks, which will become a bigger issue with a flurry of games coming up, but for now, the concern surrounds North End’s home.
“Yes, 100 per cent,” Heckingbottom told the Lancashire Post when asked if forthcoming home games would follow a similar pattern to Saturday’s battle with the Rams.
“They’re going to be like that. We spoke about it. We even discussed does; it change what we go for in the transfer window, and we’ve totally changed tact. But we can’t do that, we can’t do that. Derby using (Patrick) Agyemang, going direct into him, dropping on seconds… it’s hard to go and get those type of players, and then if you don’t really want to play like that and don’t believe in it?
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“But it’s a dilemma, it’s one that gets me thinking every day, definitely. We’ve got no right to be beating anyone in this league. I spoke to one or two of the Derby players in the summer, and we’re nowhere near competing with Derby for signing players. So we’ve got no right, and what our players are doing is fantastic.
“The pitch is a factor for us, and we’ve got to deal with it. We’ve got to come up with solutions, but that’s it,” Heckingbottom told the Lancashire Post.
On meeting the Tigers, who fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 when the pair met at the MKM Stadium in September, the ex-Blades boss is keen to see his side bounce back.
“Our form in general has been very good, a very good start to the year with a couple of wins in the league. Obviously, the way the schedule is at the minute, it’s another opportunity to bounce back on Tuesday.
“Another tough game (Hull City). All the games in this league are really finely balanced. Margins are fine and that’s why we have to get most things right.”
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